Mother arrested in shooting of two-year-old

Indianapolis - A two-year-old boy is at Methodist Hospital in serious condition after a shooting inside his home on Friday night.

Child Abuse detectives arrested, Quienetta Jones, the 33-year-old mother of the two year old  on a B Felony Child Neglect charge on Saturday morning.

Police were called to a home at North Washington Boulevard and 30th Street around 10 p.m. on a report of a shooting. When they arrived, they discovered an ugly scene.

“They found there was a two year old who had been shot in the stomach,” said IMPD Sgt. Matthew Mount.

Police say the boy was home with his two sisters, ages 9 and 12, while their mother was away. The children were in an upstairs bedroom when the 12-year old left the room to hang up a shirt and heard the gunshots.

“She ran outside, started calling for help,” said Sgt. Mount.

“She came screaming out of the house, ‘He shot himself! He shot himself! Oh my God, he shot himself!’,” said a neighbor.

The neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous, followed the girl back into the home while his wife called 911.

“I wasn’t prepared for it to be a baby,” he said, holding back tears. “Just did everything I could to keep him awake, from wriggling off the bed. He was squirming around a lot.”

He also made sure the gun was out of the reach of the other children.

“I put it away from them and made them put it on the other side. I put myself between them and the weapon,” the neighbor said.

The boy was transported to Methodist in very serious condition. The two sisters were not hurt.

Investigators believe the gunshot was self-inflicted.

“The kids say the two-year old got hold of the gun the mother kept in the house and accidentally discharged the bullet, striking the two-year old in the stomach,” Sgt. Mount said.

In the front door frame, police examined what appeared to be a bullet hole. There is a similar hole in an interior wall behind the door. It is unclear if they are connected to the shooting.

The boy’s mother was located by police and she is at the hospital with the child until she was arrested on the neglect charges Saturday morning.

“The issue here was the gun was left unsecured,” Sgt. Mount said.

“It’s a single mom raising kids in a neighborhood where the next street over is really, really bad. I think she’s doing the best she can,” the male neighbor said. “I think it would be a crying shame to separate that family over an accident.” wthr